Columns

How often do we consider how differently we all view the world? Our views aren’t only formed by our own life experiences, but by the way our brains work at a fundamental level. They work so differently, and yet we tend to assume they all work the same. A good friend recently asked me if I think in visuals or narratives. When I’m prompted for a thought, do I see an image in my mind or hear the thought instead? It took a bit of consideration for me to come up with my answer, as it feels odd to think about how I’m thinking. I ended up concluding that when I’m speaking with someone or reading, I think in visuals, but when I’m focusing on something visual, I thin...

I went to many birthday parties when I was a kid. I don’t remember most of them. One I do remember, vividly, however, is the party to which I didn’t receive an invitation. It was in celebration of one of my good friend’s tenth birthdays. I was unaware of the occurrence of such a mega event,...

What do hunting, huckleberries, honoring our veterans, and accountability for taxpayer money have in common? Two things. The first is that they’re all strongly supported by Montanans. The second is that we’re already well on our way to putting big wins on the board this legislative session that i...

Affordable housing shortages. Rising food and childcare costs. Protecting our state constitution. There are a number of pressing issues facing Montanans that our representatives could (and should) be addressing during the 68th Legislative Session, issues that we elected them to handle. Instead, we’re l...

For this New Year, I splurged during a sale and bought myself a countertop ice maker.  I’ve never lived in an apartment with an ice maker built into the freezer. Ever since I left home, I’ve just used those little freezer ice trays, and mostly gone without ice at all because they never fe...

Happy New Year!  We are all so excited for 2023 and the wonderful updates and changes it will bring to our building with our renovation project. We hope you are excited as well. We will continue our music in the library series after our renovation is complete. We have several programs scheduled for J...

Who am I supposed to hate, again? For years I taught a graduate class, Identity Conflict, and I would begin the term by noting that trying to list the composite identity elements of any one individual would show that, indeed, we are unique. No two humans share an exact measure of identities. Even twins bi...

I’ve always loved gardening. No, I’m going to take that a step further: I’ve always loved growing things.  Growing things - as in flowers, vegetables, friendships, babies and kids, this column, faith, my marriage, knowledge, compassion, kindness and most importantly love. And more, ...

As Montanans, we care for each other. Across the rural-urban divide, generational divide, and Brawl of the Wild divide. Of all our constituents across Montana, the most deserving are our elderly neighbors who are on Medicaid benefits. They have served Montana well, and at this final stage in their lives seek...

Two a.m. Boink! My eyes pop open. It’s Christmas Eve, but it’s not that I just heard Santa wandering through the house. It’s far more banal: gotta use the bathroom. I crawl out of bed, step bare-assed into . . . oh my God . . . a learning experience. Another one! The heat was off. The...